Beyoncé did not sing the national anthem live at President Obama’s inauguration.

Millions of viewers around the world were stunned by the singer’s spectacular rendition of the anthem but The Times has learnt that she was lip-syncing to a pre-recorded backing track.

A spokeswoman for the Marine Corp Band Kristen DuBois said it was standard procedure to record a backing track and Beyoncé decided shortly before her performance to rely on the studio version rather than risk singing it live on the Capitol.

Yo Yo Ma pre-recorded his cello performance in 2008 because the cold weather and wind may have…